"crime of opportunity"

[deep]

The killings appeared to have been a "crime of opportunity," the official said. The soldiers had not been attacked by insurgents but had noticed the woman on previous patrols.

The American army in Iraq suffered a fresh blow to its image today as it emerged that five soldiers were being investigated for allegedly raping a woman and then murdering her and three members of her family.

The soldiers are accused of burning their alleged victim's body, according to sources quoted by the AP news agency.

US troops 'raped mother and killed family in Iraq'

 

[deep]

U S Soldiers stalked the woman for over a week.

Broke into her home and raped then killed her.

They also killed others to cover up their crime, including a little girl.

They burned the body, to cover up the crime.


I guess it is about time that we passed that flag burning amendment.

BEIJI (IRAQ): Investigators believe a group of US soldiers suspected of raping an Iraqi woman, then killing her and three members of her family plotted the attack for nearly a week, a US military official said on Saturday.

Up to five soldiers are being investigated in the March killings, the fifth pending case involving alleged slayings of Iraqi civilians by US troops.

The Americans entered the Sunni Arab's family home, separated three males from the woman, raped her and burned her body using a flammable liquid in a cover-up attempt, a military official close to the investigation said. The three males were also slain.

The soldiers had studied their victims for about a week and the attack was "totally premeditated", the official said on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

The family had just moved into the home in the insurgent-riddled area around Mahmoudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad.

 

[deep]

indeed a boring story, stalking and raping a 15 year old girl, mudering her, and her family including her seven old sister

let's all just have a happy independance day

what does this mean to you?

 

[BonosSaint]

I'm been following this story with anger and shame. I haven't said anything about it because I can't. I am just so sorry.

 

[80sU2isBest]

indeed a boring story, stalking and raping a 15 year old girl, mudering her, and her family including her seven old sister

let's all just have a happy independance day

what does this mean to you?

You have to know that 99.95 to 100% percent of us think that it's a dastardly sickening crime and that the perpetrators deserve death.

So beyond that, what would you have us say?

 

[AliEnvy]

what does this mean to you?

It means that talking about it requires facing an ugly truth people would rather pretend didn't exist.

Since they wiped out the family I wonder who gets the USD apology cheques.

 

[80sU2isBest]

It means that talking about it requires facing an ugly truth people would rather pretend didn't exist.

How can anyone pretend it doesn't exist?

Is there any possible way that Interferencers talking about this will help the situation at all? I still want to know, what would you have any of us say about this, beyond the obvious "It's a devilish cirme and those responsible need to be punished to the full extent of the law"? What else IS there to say?

 

[AliEnvy]

Why are you so defensive? People can say anything they like as they do in every other thread where Interferencers aren't actually solving world problems. Or not. Often silence speaks volumes.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

let's all just have a happy independance day

what does this mean to you?

If that's supposed to be some sort of dig at the thread I started, well whatever deep. Yes we are all cold heartless raving lunatics of blind patriotism because we didn't reply to this. It's like Bono's Saint said, what can you say other than how horrible it is, horrible beyond words. There is a place in FYM for both types of threads, just because one doesn't reply to this one doesn't mean one is any type of person that you are seemingly implying that they (we) are.

So if that was your intention, to take a cheap shot like that-sorry, that's sad. Maybe that's one reason some people didn't reply, for fear of a response such as that from you. Speaking for myself that's one reason I didn't.

Sorry, I don't want to make this personal and it isn't. I am merely reacting to what you have said here and it does tend to be somewhat of a pattern.

 

[80sU2isBest]

Why are you so defensive? People can say anything they like as they do in every other thread where Interferencers aren't actually solving world problems. Or not. Often silence speaks volumes.

The reason I responded the way I did was because of Deep's insinuation that we don't respond because we don't care, and because of your outright statement that in not talking about it, we're trying to pretend it doesn't exist. Both are ludicrous and insulting..

 

[80sU2isBest]

Why are you so defensive? People can say anything they like as they do in every other thread where Interferencers aren't actually solving world problems. Or not. Often silence speaks volumes.

triple post

 

[80sU2isBest]

Why are you so defensive? People can say anything they like as they do in every other thread where Interferencers aren't actually solving world problems. Or not. Often silence speaks volumes.

triple post

 

[BonosSaint]

Often silence does speak volumes. It's just not so easy to tell all the time what it is saying.

It is an important story. A horrible story. An incomprehensible one. It should have been brought up. Because I didn't talk about it doesn't mean I wasn't thinking about it. Often.

My head's been spinning since 9/11 about what this country once meant to me and I am sorting myth and reality. And I'm not feeling really good right now.

But the 4th thread was appropriate. To see how people are seeing it, to see what they are celebrating, to see what they are salvaging. To remember what we do well so we can keep on doing that or to do what we once did well, not to turn a blind eye to what is being done in our names. Some will turn a blind eye. Some won't.

It's absolutely important to know what we are doing wrong, every bit of it in all its starkness. It's also important to discuss what we can do and have done and if anything is on the right track. If nothing else, we have the right to celebrate what we want America to be.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Anyway. this is what is happening in the case



BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S. military court in Baghdad heard graphic testimony on Monday of how three U.S. soldiers took turns raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl before murdering her and her family.

At the hearing into whether four U.S. soldiers should be court-martialled for rape and murder, a special agent described what took place in Mahmudiya in March, based on an interview he had with one of the men, Specialist James Barker.

The case, the fifth involving serious crimes being investigated by the U.S. military in Iraq, has outraged Iraqis and led Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to call for a review of foreign troops' immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law.

Special Agent Benjamin Bierce recalled that Barker described to him how they put a couple and their six-year-old daughter into a bedroom of their home, but kept the teenage girl in the living room, where Barker held her hands while Sergeant Paul Cortez raped her or tried to rape her.

Barker then switched positions with Cortez and attempted to rape the girl but said he was not sure if he had done so, Bierce told the hearing.

Barker also told the special agent he heard shots from the bedroom and shortly afterwards Private Steven Green emerged from the room, put down an AK-47 assault rifle and raped the girl while Cortez held her down.

SHOT HER SEVERAL TIMES

Barker told Bierce that Green then picked up the weapon and shot her once, paused, and shot her several more times.

Military prosecutors are expected to set out their case against Private First Class Jesse Spielman, 21, Barker, 23, Cortez, 23 and Private First Class Bryan Howard, 19, who face charges of rape and murder among others.

If court-martialled after the Article 32 hearing -- the military's equivalent of a U.S. grand jury -- and found guilty, they could face the death penalty. The hearing began on Sunday and is expected to last several days.

Green, 21, faces the same charges in a U.S. federal court in Kentucky, home of the 502nd Infantry Regiment, his former unit. Green, who has pleaded not guilty, was discharged from the army for a "personality disorder."

A fifth soldier, Sergeant Anthony Yribe, is charged with dereliction of duty and making a false statement and will also appear at the hearing at a U.S. base in Baghdad.

Defense Attorney Captain Jimmie Culp was blowing chewing gum bubbles while Yribe, sitting to his left, began sucking on a red lollipop during the testimony.

An Iraqi army medic told the hearing on Sunday he entered the house and found the body of 14-year-old Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi naked and burned from the waist up, with a single bullet wound beneath her left eye.

Special Agent Gary Griesmyer recounted Cortez' account of the day. "While they were playing cards and drinking Iraqi whiskey, the idea came to go out to an Iraqi house, rape a woman and murder her family," he testified.

Cortez said Barker told the young girl to "shut up" after she was raped, Griesmyer said.

Bierce said Barker told him he poured kerosene from a lamp on to the girl. It was not clear who set her on fire.

Barker later signed a sworn statement based on the interview, in which he said that on the day of the attack he, Cortez, Spielman and Green had been playing cards and drinking whisky mixed with an energy drink. They then went to the rear of the checkpoint where they were based to hit golf balls.

Green said he wanted to go to a house and kill some Iraqis, Barker wrote in his sworn statement.

After the rape and murders, he wrote that he began to grill chicken wings.

 

[verte76]

I hope the perpetrators get what they deserve. This thread was going when I was off-line, I didn't have my Internet connection and I just wanted to blow off some steam, so there..................

 

[A_Wanderer]

Execution is what they deserve if their guilty.

 

[anitram]

It's disgusting and demented.

Her raped, burned body was found by her 10 and 13 year old brothers.

Winning the hearts and minds...

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

if their guilty.

Well unless Barker is lying and concocting the story, they're guilty. Unless I suppose someone wanted to get technical about the rape charge- of course given what they did to that poor little girl's body, no evidence would exist.

That is one of the worst, most horrific things I have ever read. I guess today they talked about drinking and flipping out or whatever they want to call it, due to stress. All of the men and women there are under tremendous stress and yet most manage to conduct themselves in human and humane ways- that is the sickest and lamest excuse. If they are not punished to the fullest extent possible it will be an absolute outrage.